December 28, 2010-by John Blair valleywatch.net editor-An early videographer, “superfoot 69” just posted a memorable video about the battle to keep the nefarious Ensco Corporation from building a hazardous waste incinerator in Tell City, IN in 1988.
Tell City had been tested before, just eleven years earlier in 1977 when the federal government tried to locate a nuclear waste dump near the town. Both times, citizens of Tell City stood proudly in opposition to the idea of profiteers using their city as a dumping ground.
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At that time, Valley Watch was just seven years old but had led or participated in numerous challenges of polluting industries ending in victories for the communities we helped to organize.
Now, the same thing is happening in communities across Indiana and Kentucky as newer polluters are seeking to locate coal and biomass plants in a region that is already saturated with pollution, causing ill health for citizens of the area.
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One such town is Rockport, IN which is already one of the most polluted towns in the nation but is targeted by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels for a pet project he hopes will make some friends of his in New York very rich.
What these videos prove is that citizens can come together and keep their communities safe when they make the effort. Winston Churchill once said during the darkest days of World War II, “Never, never, never give up!” Those are sage words even today.